Apples To Apples And Dust To Dust
"Cock-a-doodle-doo", crowed a rooster. Applejack arose, hearing the bird's morning cry. She quite literally rolled out of bed, landing on the hard wooden floor with a dull thud. This did not faze her however, as she was too tired to care. She got up to her hooves, and checked the calendar.
May. May 13. This was it. The day of all days. Mother's Day. With a deep breath, she mentally prepared herself.
She made sure her mane and tail were brushed, donned her signature hat, then went down the stairs. It was quiet, the only sound being that of Granny Smith preparing that morning's breakfast. Applejack sat at the table with her siblings, her nostrils catching onto the scent of eggs and bacon.
"Good Mornin' ya'll.", Applejack.
"Mornin'", croaked Granny Smith as she continued to cook.
"Hey sis", was Applebloom's soft, almost whispery reply.
"Eeyup", drawled Big Mac.
And then, silence once more. Everypony just minded their own business without a word, which of course was odd. Usually in the mornings Applebloom would go on and on about the latest plan she and the other CMC members had cooked up, or Granny Smith would prattle on about her childhood. But no, everypony held their tongue.
At last the meal was ready, and Granny Smith prepared plates and set one each down in front of the Apple Siblings before making one for herself. It smelled good that was true, but for some reason Applejack just couldn't bring herself to eat. Her mouth was dry, and her stomach and throat felt as if they were being constricted with a steel vice. She pursed her furry orange lips as she stared down at her plate, her food mocking her with a delicious, greasy silence.
Well, this was accomplishing nothing. The whole time she was busy staring at her food, she could have been doing chores. She could have been taking freshly picked apples to the market. She could have been doing anything but letting herself get too wrapped up in sorrow. But no, she just sat there and contemplated her meal while the others ate, getting absolutely nothing done. These thoughts fogged up Applejack's mind, her emerald eyes becoming glazed and unfocused.
"You feelin' alright? Yeh haven't touched a morsel." Granny Smith's voice startled Applejack out of her daze.
"Y-yeah. I'm not hungry."
"Well, why didn't yeh just say so? Eh, I guess I'll feed it to Winona."
Well that was that, the food problem was solved. At least it wouldn't go to waste. "Thanks Granny." Applejack stood, and pushed her chair back underneath the table. "Welp, I gotta do some chores." The rest of the family looked at her, eyes wide. "Chores", questioned Granny Smith, "yeh just got up! Are yeh sure?"
"Yep. Got apples to harvest, animals to feed... better early than never. Chores ain't gonna do themselves, y'know?"
With that, she exited the farmhouse and made her way towards the orchard before anypony else could say anything.
Indeed, it was still early in the morning. The sun had barely made its way over the horizon, the sky being an elegant gradient of blues, reds, pinks and purples. Crickets were chirping, and the grass's dew dampened Applejack's hooves. She took a deep breath of the crisp, cool air and proceeded to kick the trunks of the apple trees.
The apples fell down from the branches with each kick, landing in baskets placed just at the bases of the trees. She continued to do this for a while, until every basket was full. At last, it was time to empty the apple-filled baskets into the wheelbarrows to be hauled. She bent down and prepared to do so, when she felt a small hoof tap her on the side. She jumped with surprise, knocking over the basket she was preparing to pick up.
"Sorry, sis... I didn't mean to scare you."
"I-it's alright Sugarcube... just please don't sneak up on me during chores, especially when it's still this early."
Applebloom sat down as her older sister continued to work.
"Why are you doin' all this so early? Usually we wait until the sun's all the way up."
"Sugarcube, it's gotta get done. "
"Yeah but..."
"But what?"
"But..." Applebloom rubbed her front of hooves together, trying to think of a response. "Is this because of mom?"
Applejack stopped suddenly, nearly toppling over another basket.
"Waddya mean?"
"Are you doing this, because of her? Because you miss mom?"
"Now what in tarnation gives you that idea?"
"I-I dunno... it's just, you seemed pretty upset back during breakfast... and then you just got up and left!"
Applejack paused, thinking. Maybe it was true, why she had decided to come out here and start chores early, all by her lonesome. Perhaps it was simply to take her mind off their late mother.
"Yeah, I think maybe you're right..." Applejack removed her hat, and held it to her chest as she closed her eyes. It had been years since Pear Butter had passed away, yet the pain remained just as strong as ever. Every single year she and her siblings had to deal with this holiday. A day to celebrate mothers and everything they do for their children. But they didn't have one. They had to watch many other ponies celebrate, buying gifts for their moms and giving them words of love and praise, something she and her siblings could not do.
It was true that Applejack should feel happy for those ponies, because at least they still had their mothers that loved and cared for them every step of the way. But no. It hurt like the deepest pits of Tartarus. She felt so empty, having no mother to hug or give thanks to. Every time this day rolled around, memories of Pear Butter came flooding back to her mind. Memories of warm hugs and baking pies together, memories of being tucked into bed and kissed on the forehead. And now it was all gone, taken from her and her family by the jaws of death while everypony else, including her friends, still had the gift of having their mothers.
Now here she was, working away in the apple orchard, trying to take her mind off of her mom and get work done instead of wallowing in her own misery. Yet, that somehow intensified the pain. It felt wrong now, to push away thoughts of her mother instead of honoring her memory and treasuring the time they already had instead of the time they would never have.
Applejack's eyes grew hot with tears, the salty liquid streaming down her face. Applebloom did the same, her bottom lip quivering. She embraced her older sister, chest heaving with muffled sobs. "I miss mom so much sis..." Applejack gently ran a hoof along Applebloom's sister, comforting her. "It's alright, Sugarcube... mom may not be here right now, but at least we all had a good run. She's in a better place now, and I'm sure she's lookin' down at all of us with a big smile."
Applebloom nodded with a smile, wiping away her tears. "Y-yeah! Even if she's not here, we can still celebrate all the good times we had!"
"That's the sprit, Applebloom. Now come on, let's finish up these chores, then go back inside for some Apple Pie. Today is gonna be the best Mother's Day ever, I promise."
Author's Note
This is a quickie, a bit rushed since I wanted to finish it before Mother's Day was over. I hope you liked it. 
That would be hard though, having to celebrate Mother's Day when you don't have a mother to celebrate. Everypony else is buying flowers or just telling their mom how great they are, and you can't help but feel... bad. Very bad.
